Ruling coalition condemns Imran's 'poisonous' allegations on army chief's appointment

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other ruling coalition leaders on Monday condemned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s ‘poisonous’ allegations that Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari want to appoint the army chief of their choice.

Their comments come a day after former premier Imran fired a broadside at his political rivals, alleging that Nawaz and Zardari wanted to appoint an army chief of their choice because a “strong and patriotic army chief” would question their “loot”.

Responding to Imran's statement, PM Shehbaz maintained that the PTI chief's “despicable utterances to malign institutions” were touching new heights “every day”.

He claimed that the former premier was “indulging in direct mud-slinging and poisonous allegations against Armed Forces and its leadership”.

“His nefarious agenda is clearly to disrupt and undermine Pakistan,” PM Shehbaz said in a tweet.

Read IHC irked by Imran's remarks on army chief selection

In a statement on Twitter, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chair Asif Ali Zardari said that the nation could now see who the real “insurgent” was.

Without naming the ousted premier, Zardari stated that Imran was attempting to weaken the country which “could not happen” in the PPP leader's lifetime and that he will not allow state institutions to become a topic of controversy because of one man.

“From our soldiers to generals, everyone is brave and loves this country,” Zardari said.

He further stated that the nation currently stood with and was trying to help flood victims while Imran held rallies.

Read More Don’t push me to the wall, warns Imran

He maintained that only the federal government could be seen making an effort in flood relief activities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Punjab – where Imran Khan and his allies held provincial governments.

Moreover, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said that as the country grappled “with the worst climate disaster, Imran Niazi continues to pollute the political space and push the country towards extreme polarisation”.

He claimed that the PTI chief was “putting blots on all state institutions”, including the appointment of a new chief of army staff.

The minister questioned if Imran’s “end game” was “more anarchy and chaos”.

Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman also criticised the ex-PM and said that the PTI leaders "were constantly blaming the security agencies."

In a series of tweets, she furthered that Imran is "spreading hatred and chaos against the security agencies". 

Talking about the recent floods that have rendered 33 million people homeless, the minister questioned if Imran's "ego and politics [are] bigger than peoples' lives?"

On Sunday, while addressing a public rally at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, the PTI chairman had asked the ruling coalition “why are they afraid of fresh elections?" He added that it was because they knew that they would be eliminated in transparent elections.

“The second reason is that the new army chief is coming in November. Zardari and Nawaz want to bring their favourite as the next army chief because they have stolen public money,” he said. “They are afraid that when patriotic army chief comes, he will ask them about their loot,” he added.

The new chief of army staff will be appointed in November this year, following General Qamar Javed Bajwa's retirement.